


Stuck

by foundthesun



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, POV Aziraphale (Good Omens), Snake Crowley (Good Omens), South Downs Cottage (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 19:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19836871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foundthesun/pseuds/foundthesun
Summary: An attempt to make Crowley comfortable while in his snake form goes embarrassingly awry.





	Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> So I spotted this [funny Good Omens tumblr post](https://femmeaziraphale.tumblr.com/post/186317599169/aziraphale-gets-silk-sheets-for-their-new-bed-in) and went 'you know what, I'm going to make some cute shit with this prompt'.
> 
> Sometimes your soulmate is a snake and you know what, that's okay.
> 
> Happy World Snake Day, everyone? Especially to the fandom's best snake, let's be real, here.

After the dust settled and their relationship inevitably shifted into more, the idea of moving in together had been a bit of a given for Aziraphale and Crowley. Months and months after settling down, Aziraphale had long since gotten used to the quirks of sharing a home with the demon, chief of which was what he termed his _snake periods_. Crowley had desperately attempted to hide the fact he needed some time to recharge himself in a form closer to his demonic nature at first, making excuses as to why he would suddenly disappear a few days every so often. It took finding the then-serpent hidden away in their backyard sleeping instead of ‘out on a trip’ for the angel to finally understand what was happening and realize, distressingly, that Crowley had been keeping it quiet out of fear of how he’d react to it. The shame he seemed to associate with it broke his heart to see and Aziraphale wouldn't stand for it.

From that moment on, he never passed up the opportunity to _normalize_ it. The first month after finding out, Aziraphale spent a good amount of time dotting their cottage with spots intended to be comfortable areas for him to hide or sun himself, depending on his moods. When Crowley finally started to opt to being around him more openly while he was a serpent, he never rebuffed him being nearby, no matter what he was doing at the time. He would even occasionally find the demon had turned sometime in his sleep and their usual tangle of arms and legs were replaced by his lithe, long body wrapped protectively around him and even that he barely batted an eye at. After all, the choice to stay in bed and run his fingers gently along his scales was always an easy one, especially with how contented Crowley seemed to be when he did it. Hiding it away became a distant memory soon enough, which was exactly what Aziraphale wanted to happen.

The idea of getting silk sheets had been born of knowing what Crowley’s preference in sleeping attire was. Surely, he surmised, if he enjoyed the feel of silk against his skin, the same could be said against his scales. It would be a nice surprise, he decided, and knew he'd have to wait for the right moment to spring it. Biding his time, the angel’s chance finally came a month or so after the idea had crossed his mind. He’d been sitting in the reading room engrossed in one of his books when he suddenly felt the familiar sensation of the demon slithering up his pant leg. It didn’t take him long before he had coiled himself up in his lap, a sensation that wasn’t much different than having a weighted blanket placed on him. It was pleasant, just like all the quiet moments he had with him were.

“Taking a nap, dear?” he guessed, not looking up from the page. He did lift the book a bit so the sunshine that was coming out of the window near them bathed him in warmth a bit more, though.

“Yesss,” Crowley hissed out, the sound coming out like a contented sigh.

“Alright. Sleep well,” he replied, reaching down to gently scratch under his chin. He smiled when he felt his forked tongue tickle his wrist as he did.

Moving him wasn’t an immediate thing. Instead, Aziraphale waited until the sun had long moved on from the window he was sitting in front of, only then putting the book aside. He looked down at the serpent fondly before snapping his fingers - a miracle to change the sheets was more than a little frivolous, but he barely gave it a second thought as he gathered Crowley into his arms.

The one thing he’d certainly learned about Crowley – as a snake and in his more human form as well – was when he slept deeply, nothing short of another apocalypse could wake him ( _if that_ ). There was no reaction at all to being jostled about, even when he went so far as to loop him a bit around his shoulders for easier transportation. Walking through the cottage with his carefully carried bundle, he eventually made it into the bedroom a few minutes later. Unsurprisingly, their bed now sported inviting silk sheets, black as the ones Crowley considered his favorite pair. It took another few minutes to properly unwind him from his body - he’d started to unconsciously cling to him in the new position he’d had him in already – but he finally was able to set him down on a sunny spot in the middle of the bed.

It didn’t take long for Crowley to curl up again in his sleep, and after being sure he was alright, the angel left him to rest. The afternoon passed by lazily afterward, the day eventually easing into a pleasant dusk. Aziraphale was sitting at their kitchen table, sipping the tea he’d just made for himself and deciding what he’d like to eat for dinner.

He was snapped out of his thoughts abruptly by an unexpected source.

“Azzziraphale!” came a strained cry from their bedroom, the sound edged with something too close to panic. Clattering the teacup he’d been holding to its plate, he didn’t even think before he was rushing toward the noise, heart leaping into his throat. He burst into the room, half expecting him to be under attack, and instead found something altogether different.

In all the planning he’d made to surprise him, he hadn’t considered the fact they, by design, were slick to the point of slippery. Had he thought about it, he may have realized the surface likely wasn’t one a snake could easily move on. Instead, it took him seeing Crowley desperately attempting to get off the bed and not finding any way to propel himself forward for it to dawn on him that a mistake had been made.

“What isss thisss?” the demon demanded, looking as irritated and frazzled as he’d ever seen a snake before.

The angel would insist later that he tried valiantly not to react to the sight. There was no stopping it when it happened, however, the laughter that immediately bubbled out of him so forceful he ended up bent over with them. By the time he pulled himself together long enough to take the situation seriously, he was breathless with tears in the corner of his eyes. Crowley had given up by then and was curled on the sheets, looking absolutely miserable.

“Oh dear, darling, I’m so sorry -“ he attempted out, words undermined by the fact he still hadn’t gotten himself _quite_ under control as he approached the bed. The serpent glared daggers at him when he tried to reach out, and while he knew he wouldn’t snap at him, Aziraphale did treat it as him not consenting to being touched and withdrew his hand. “Please, let me help you.” 

“Go away,” came a grumpy, sharp reply, Crowley's head now partially hidden by a coil of his own body. He knew the serpent well enough that he would stubbornly wait until he was human-shaped again before asking for help after the fit Aziraphale just had, and the guilt that came after that realization dried up his laughter far faster than anything else could.

“You must understand, I was simply trying to surprise you with something _nice_. I hadn’t even considered it might be difficult for you to move on,” he explained himself, hoping context would soothe his frayed pride. It did not. Shoulders slumping a little, he added, a little more quietly, “I shouldn’t have laughed. That was cruel of me.”

Aziraphale climbed onto the bed then, offering his arms out in a motion to show he was willing and able to help him. Crowley didn’t look interested in taking it at all.

“It’sss not funny,” he muttered, crossly.

“You’re right. Won’t happen again, I promise,” he agreed, contrite. He watched the serpent size him up and though still looking rightfully unamused, he seemed to relax his stance a bit. Aziraphale didn’t quite make a move to lift him yet. “May I?”

The demon considered the offer, eyes narrowed into slits. After a long moment, he finally let out a glum, “Yesss.”

It wasn’t much work gathering him up again. He put him on the ground carefully right after, having a feeling he didn’t much want to be held longer than he had to be. Sure enough, without a word, the snake slithered out of the room, disappearing into the house and Aziraphale let him leave, deciding to give him the space he clearly wanted. He did, however, take the offending sheet off the bed and replaced it with one of their usual ones, not wanting it to be an issue for him any longer. Discarding it to the side, he continued to leave Crowley be, knowing he was hiding somewhere and would come out when he wanted to. Despite not being tired in the least, he opted to go to bed alone for once a few hours later, hoping it’d tempt him to come out.

It took a little while, but the temptation proved successful. Not long after he started dozing, he woke up to the sensation of something flicking against his cheek. Opening his eyes, he found two yellow eyes staring back, glinting a little in the moonlight that was illuminating their room.

“There you are,” the angel realized, looking at him with a hopeful expression. “Am I to assume I’m forgiven?”

Crowley said nothing, though he did butt his large head against his forehead affectionately, then lowered it to rest on his chest. It was as close to a yes as he was going to get.

* * *

Aziraphale was nothing if not persistent. The next morning, instead of throwing the offending sheets out and never speaking of what happened again, he instead realized he had perhaps gone about it all in the wrong way. There was, after all, more than enough of the sheet to create bedding for one of his baskets. It didn't take long for him to complete the project once he set out to do it, replacing a far inferior sheet he had had in it beforehand. Not making a big deal of it, he left it out for Crowley to try – or not – at his leisure, then went about his business for the day. It was only a few hours later that he happened past it and found the serpent curled up in it and soundly passed out, soaking in the noonday sun.

He watched him sleep for a moment, a smile growing on his face at the sight of it, then quietly continued onward into the next room.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](https://gottanerdout.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/gottageekout), come say hello!


End file.
